Mike Austin: At the Nevada County Sheriff’s forum

I attended the recent Sheriff's candidate forum (Kudos to the League of Women Voters). It was my first chance to hear all three candidates. The panel and audience did a good job of asking important questions about the issues facing our county and the sheriff's office.

My take: if you agree that the sheriff's office needs transformational change, there's only one candidate who has done that before, and only one who can do it now — John Foster.

The other candidates seemed wedded to the status quo. One said she wanted change, but couldn't offer a single new idea that would result in it. The other was on the wrong side of just about every issue that represents change — cannabis, use of force, body cameras, homelessness, school safety and others.

Foster, on the other hand, was on the same page as many Nevada County citizens when it came to the issues. He had specific suggestions for solving them. More importantly, he shared his goal of bringing a new level of trust, collaboration and accountability to the agency. John will build a team of well-trained, transparent, dedicated men and women. He did it in Grass Valley, and he'll do it for Nevada County.